ChiefsPlanet - Life Do we have any OTR drivers here?

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Do we have any OTR drivers here? (https://www.chiefsplanet.com/BB/showthread.php?t=267935)

Quote:

Originally Posted by R8RFAN (Post 11558093)

Been driving close to 30 years and this happened to me week before last for the first time @ 65mph in a curve with 13k on the front box and an empty...

I controlled like a champ and got it to the shoulder.

Just a word of warning, this is an easy way to die in a Tractor Trailer and even harder to control with a set of doubles.

http://i.imgur.com/ldX3ci2.jpg
http://i.imgur.com/Vb0zz2r.jpg

Much truth in the last paragraph. Glad you're OK.

Damn. Blowing a steer was one of my worse fears while driving.

Quote:

Originally Posted by R8RFAN (Post 11558093)

Nice pre-trip, FedEx mileage driver.

I kid. Good job not losing your shit and staying in control. Nobody blames you if you filled your shorts with mud.

Hey Dayze, wanna trade:D

Just the truck though. Trailer and sprayer are mine.

http://i.imgur.com/3fUese6.jpg

To be fair, that's our spare truck. Our decent truck (still no Pete) is hooked on to the grain trailer for harvest.

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigMeatballDave (Post 11557915)

As long as you can idle, you're good. Trans Am's Kenworths would only idle 5 minutes.

Even if you run at high idle?

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigMeatballDave (Post 11557915)

As long as you can idle, you're good. Trans Am's Kenworths would only idle 5 minutes.

A good way around this is to back your rig under a trailer without hooking to it and not pull the brake. The idle shutdown only works when the parking brake is applied. If you can wedge under a trailer to keep yourself from rolling, you're golden.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowser (Post 11558417)

Interesting. I never would have thought of this.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dayze (Post 11557900)

Yeah, all provided at no cost.

They're an employee owned company. I'm not CPM, I elected to go with percentage pay. Meaning I earn a percentage of what the truck makes. You start at 26%, and can go as high as 32% I think. And the percentage can change monthly based on your performance. It's actually based on a 13week average. A series of things get you points, and so many points gets you into a particular percentage bracket. Being at the customer the night before by 9pmon Sunday's is worth so many points. What you're fuel mileage is is worth so many points. Out of route miles, revenue to the truck, etc. so it's nice because you can be making as much as the guy that's been there 5years very
Quickly.

First week solo I made 3500 to the truck (truck revenue) and this week I put down 3600. Add in tarp pay etc, and you can do ok. They have a new program for new drivers where the first 4 weeks on your own, they guarantee you a gross of no less than $1k per week while you get your feet wet. They're thinking about extending it to 8weeks.
Good company it seems. Only like 1500 drivers I think. Something like that

Quote:

Originally Posted by Buehler445 (Post 11558390)

Shit, I'll drive anything that pays. :D

Quote:

Originally Posted by BigMeatballDave (Post 11558227)

Damn. Blowing a steer was one of my worse fears while driving.

Me too, back in 1989 I drove a R model Mack with a 40' tank hauling chemicals. I was SB on US 29 just north of Charllotesville,Va, around 2AM, never been on this stretch of road before. Coming off of a small hill I rounded a downward curve 60MPH to the left and had the LF steer blow, hauling 40,000 of Xylene. :eek:

Good thing it was a 4 lane divided highway, I used the whole damn road to get that bitch under control. The weight of the liquid had me leaning right and the tractor wanted to go left. Left we went and quickly since I had started my turn going left, them the zylene wanted to shift to the left as the slope of the shoulder was to the left.

Braking with a sloped shoulder to the left only made it more difficult to come to a stop. Not knowing the roadway was troubling as well, especially at 2 AM in the morning. Good thing I had a long straight away after the curve, little did I know that both sides of the roadway had a good 30 to 40 ditch awaiting for me land in.

Traffic behind me had no clue as to why I went from the RH lane to the far edge on the left shoulder, then back out to the middle of the road before getting it slowed down and under control on the right shoulder. It took ever ounce of strength in my arms and legs that night to be able to walk away from it.

I did then and even today consider myself to be a blessed man that my life didn't end up in flames that morning.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Dayze (Post 11558795)

Shit, I'll drive anything that pays. :D

You'd drive it. And then you'd hate me forever. It is a POS. We tried to trade it off but they'd only give us 3,000 for it so we had to keep it. I keep hoping the engine will quit so we can junk it. But it is mechanically awesome. It's just that nothing else is. The cab is beyond worthless And so small I look like I'm driving a damn Shriner truck, the ac is an aftermarket mother ****er that blows nowhere but on your triceps of your right arm. That's on top of the fact that it has a whopping 350 HP, no weight and is so ****ing short you feel every bump.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Bowser (Post 11558371)

Nice pre-trip, FedEx mileage driver.

Pretrip was done son, the whole tread peeled off the tire like it was a recap, (of course it wasn't but)

We don't have old dry rotted tires here, Fedex only uses those Michilen XD's and the tread was wonderful on them, just a faulty tire.